1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting and placing structure for a refrigerator which includes a compressor and a condenser each constituting a portion of a refrigerating unit and mounted to an outer surface of a rear wall of a refrigerator body, the refrigerator being mounted to a stationary support wall with the refrigerator body accommodated in an accommodating recess provided in the support wall. Particularly, the invention relates to a mounting and placing structure for a refrigerator which is suitable to be carried in a large-sized vehicle such as a truck or in a ship such as a cruiser.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional placing structure in which a refrigerator is mounted to a support wall in such a manner that a refrigerator body is accommodated in an accommodating recess, an intake bore for drawing air and an exhaust bore for discharging the air are provided in the support wall separately from the accommodating recess for the purpose of escaping heat released from a compressor and a condenser mounted to a rear wall of the refrigerator body.
In the structure in which the intake bore and the exhaust bore are provided in the support wall as in the above conventional structure, however, it is difficult to say that the external appearance of the structure is excellent and moreover, it may be difficult in some cases to ensure a space for provision of the intake bore and the exhaust bore, depending on a placing area.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting and placing structure for a refrigerator, wherein it is unnecessary to provide the intake bore and the exhaust bore in the support wall, leading to an improved appearance and moreover, the compressor and the condenser can be cooled sufficiently.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided a mounting and placing structure for a refrigerator including a refrigerator body having an opening in a front surface thereof and defining a refrigerating chamber, a door mounted on the front surface of the refrigerator body for opening and closing the opening, and a refrigerating unit for refrigerating said refrigerating chamber, the refrigerator including a compressor and a condenser each constituting a portion of the refrigerating unit and mounted to an outer surface of a rear wall of the refrigerator body, the refrigerator being mounted to a stationary support wall, such that the refrigerator body is accommodated in an accommodating recess provided in the support wall, and the door can be opened and closed outside the accommodating recess, wherein the mounting and placing structure includes an intake passage into which air can be drawn through a front end thereof, an exhaust passage from which the air can be discharged through a front end thereof, and a communication passage which connects rear ends of the intake passage and the exhaust passage to each other, the compressor and said condenser being accommodated in the communication passage, and wherein the intake passage, the exhaust passage and the communication passage are defined between an inner surface of the accommodating recess and the refrigerator body accommodated in the accommodating recess, and a fan is mounted to the rear wall of the refrigerator body and accommodated in the communication passage for drawing air from the intake passage and discharging the air into the exhaust passage.
With such arrangement of the first feature, the air drawn into the intake passage from the outside by the operation of the fan is permitted to flow through the communication passage and then discharged through the exhaust passage to the outside, so that the compressor and condenser accommodated in the communication passage are cooled effectively by the air flowing through the communication passage. Moreover, since the intake passage, the communication passage and the exhaust passage are defined between the inner surface of the accommodating recess and the refrigerator body, it is unnecessary to provide an intake bore and an exhaust bore in the support wall in addition to the accommodating recess. Therefore, the aesthetic appearance can be enhanced by no need for the provision of such intake and exhaust bores, and the compressor and the condenser can be cooled sufficiently.
According to a second aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the first feature, the accommodating recess is defined by first and second side surfaces extending vertically in parallel to each other, a ceiling surface connecting upper ends of the first and second side surfaces at right angles to each other, a bottom surface connecting lower ends of the first and second side surfaces at right angles to each other, and a closed end surface connecting rear ends of the side surfaces, the ceiling surface and the bottom surface at right angles to each other; wherein the rear wall of the refrigerator body has a regular quadrilateral vertical-sectional shape and defines the intake passage between the refrigerator body and the bottom surface, and the exhaust passage between the refrigerator body and the ceiling surface, the rear wall including a first wall portion which is adjacent to the first side surface and closer and opposed to the closed end surface in parallel to the closed end surface, and a second wall portion which is adjacent to the second side surface and inclined such that it is spaced farther from the closed end surface as going away from the first wall portion, the first and second wall portions being connected to each other; and wherein the communication passage is of a triangular cross-sectional shape and extends vertically to connect the rear ends of the intake passage and the exhaust passage, the communication passage being defined between the second side surface as well as the closed end surface of the accommodating recess and the second wall portion.
With such arrangement of the second feature, the intake passage, the exhaust passage and the communication passage are defined by only accommodating the refrigerator body in the accommodating recess having the simple right-angled quadrilateral cross-sectional shape. In addition, the cross-sectional area of the communication passage can be set at an allowed small value to the utmost, and the flow speed of the air flowing through the communication passage can be increased to the utmost to enhance the efficiency of cooling the compressor and the condenser. Moreover, the second wall portion constituting a portion of the rear wall of the refrigerator body is defined in such a manner that a corner at the rear end of the refrigerator body is cut out. Thus, goods can be accommodated effectively in the entire refrigerating chamber deeply from its inlet end to its deep end, as compared with a refrigerator in which a central portion of a rear wall is recessed to protrude into a refrigerating chamber.
According to a third aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the second feature, mounting plates are secured to the front end of the refrigerator body at opposite sides of the refrigerator body, thereby closing gaps defined respectively between the first and second side surfaces of the accommodating recess and the opposite sides of the refrigerator body, wherein the mounting plates can be fastened to the support wall. With such arrangement, the refrigerator body can be fixed to the support wall, while avoiding a reduction in aesthetic appearance due to the reason that the gaps on the opposite sides of the refrigerator body are visible from the outside.
According to a fourth aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the second or third feature, an upper cover having exhaust bores leading to the exhaust passage is mounted to the front end of the refrigerator body at an upper portion of the refrigerator body to cover the front end of the exhaust passage. With such arrangement, it is possible to avoid that the exhaust passage defined between the ceiling surface of the accommodating recess and the refrigerator body is visible from the outside, thereby enhancing the external appearance, and the air can be discharged from the exhaust passage to the outside, while preventing foreign matters from entering the exhaust passage from the outside.
According to a fifth aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the second or third feature, a lower cover having an intake bore leading to the intake passage is mounted to the front end of the refrigerator body at a lower portion of the refrigerator body to cover the front end of the intake passage. With such arrangement, it is possible to avoid that the intake passage defined between the bottom surface of the accommodating recess and the refrigerator body is visible from the outside, thereby enhancing the external appearance, and the air can be drawn into the intake passage from the outside, while preventing foreign matters from entering the intake passage from the outside.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.